Darkness Falling
by Dino724
Summary: It's been twenty years since the defeat of Apocalypse. The Professor has grown old and entrusted his past students to take over the school for him. Now, a new generation of mutants enter the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, and must face all the new challenges society poses for them. From danger room sessions to prom to a secret invasion, anything could happen.
1. Prologue

**A/N: **This is the prologue to my SYOC story. No OCs are introduced in this chapter obviously because I haven't chosen any yet. The form and rules are on my profile, so make sure to check that out and submit a character!

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**Prologue**

_August 3__rd__, 2023 _

An elderly Charles Xavier looked out of the window from his office to observe the scene below. There were a group of young adults, teenagers really, chattering among themselves as they waited to be let in. Soon they were to be his students. Or rather they _would_ be if he were still a teacher. Charles sighed as he looked down at his hands. Once smooth, strong and able to shake another man's hand with a strong grip, they had now grown wrinkly and weak over the long course of twenty years. His mind was still sharp and young, yet his body was barely able to keep up with him nowadays. His health especially was causing major difficulties and annoyances in his life. Though Charles had come to understand that his time was almost at an end and mutant or not, he too had a certain limit of days to live.

"Professor?" a deep voice called from behind.

Charles turned around and smiled at his former student. Once a young, lanky and awkward boy, Scott Summers had grown up to become the true leader he was destined to be. He had grown another four inches over the years and had become quite muscular. His face was very well structured and defined. Charles couldn't help but notice how Scott now was able to stand confidently and with a true look of authority.

"Scott, how many times must I tell you, call me Charles. I fear that my teaching days are long over. How may I help you?" he asked kindly, and slowly wheeled out from behind his desk.

Scott smiled weakly. "I was just wondering if you would like to join us and you know… Give one of those welcoming speeches you're so good at giving. I mean, this is your school after all, you should have the honor of properly welcoming the new students."

Charles chuckled softly. "I may be old, but I think I still have a few good welcoming speeches left in me."

Downstairs, Kitty Pryde and Kurt Wagner waited in the foyer patiently. Kurt, sitting perfectly balanced on the stairs railing, and Kitty walking around in small circles with her head hung back so that she could look up at the high ceiling. Both had grown greatly and matured… _slightly_. Kurt no longer wore his image inducer and was one hundred percent proud and confident with his true appearance. He still looked roughly the same, only taller and more muscular. His blue hair had been cut short, no longer giving him a childish look. Kitty too had grown taller, but was still rather petite for her age. She stopped putting her hair into a ponytail the same time she lost her valley girl accent.

"Kätzchen, you are going to get dizzy by doing that. And we wouldn't want you stumbling around when giving the new students a tour of this place, now would we? Not exactly a good image for first impressions." Kurt laughed.

Kitty seemed to ignore this and continued with her walking. She then asked, "Kurt, what do you think they'll be like?"

Kurt looked at her and shrugged. "They'll probably be just like us when we were teenagers: young, reckless, loud, disobedient, misbehaved, destructive, and annoying. Why?"

Kitty stopped walking in circles and rolled her eyes. "Great."

Seeing a small opportunity to joke around, Kurt jumped down from the railing and quickly wrapped his arms around Kitty's waist from behind. Kitty squealed out in surprise when Kurt lifted her off of the ground and began spinning with her in his arms. "Elf! Stop it!" Kitty giggled. "Come on Kurt! You'll get us both dizzy!"

From the doorway leading into the kitchen, Jean Grey watched the happy couple. In a small, weird way, she was jealous. Even after the events of Apocalypse all those years back, Kitty and Kurt still maintained the heart and spirit of the happy go-lucky goofballs they had as teenagers. Jean remembered the time when she too could just goof off and have fun without thinking about the consequences. But now she and Scott shared the responsibility of running the school and making sure nothing bad happened. There was no more time for her to mess around; she had to be the adult figure. '_Great, now it'll be me who the kids laugh at and call a stick in the mud,' _she thought.

"Ah Jean, you're already down here. Terrific."

Jean glanced over her shoulder and felt a little more assertive at the sight of the Professor wheeling into the room with her husband at his side. There was something about Charles's presence that always made Jean feel more calm and relaxed, like his natural mutation was too ease one's mind the moment he entered the room. Jean was always amazed by that. "Yeah, I was just waiting for you two."

Scott raised an eyebrow at his wife, "Jean, are you okay?"

Jean nodded her head. "I think so. I guess I'm just a little nervous, that's all. I mean, the thought of running an entire school is pretty nerve wrecking. Really Professor, how did you do it? I'm sure that when we were all young, we must have been little monsters to try and control. Or at least I'm sure that's what Logan thought."

Charles chuckled. "No, no, no. Not monsters my dear; simply a challenge. And what is life without any of those?" Charles could see that Jean still looked unsure. "Jean, you were one of my best students," Scott lightly coughed and Charles turned to look at him as well, "as were you Scott. And I would not have offered you two this job of running my school if I did not believe the both of you were up for it. I have never been more sure of something than this."

Jean smiled and Scott placed his hand on her shoulder, "We can do this. Together."

Not a second later, there was a loud crashing sound and the noise from outside completely stopped. Kurt teleported into the room and looked at the three. "Uh, I would hurry up and let those kids in, because I think it's turning into World War III out there. Kind of like the time Jamie, Jubes, and Bobby locked Tabby, Sam, and Amara outside in the snow."

Scott's eyes widened underneath his ruby quartz sunglasses and hurried past Kurt into the foyer mumbling to himself, "I am _not_ letting that happen again! Not again, no way…"

Charles, Jean, and Kurt followed after him and saw Scott standing by the door. Kitty was looking at all of them with a smile on her face. "Finally! I've been bored out of my mind just waiting here. Also, they broke the top of the fountain."

Jean lowered her head and sighed, whereas Charles smirked. "Yes, definitely a challenge." And with that, Scott opened up the front door, revealing six young mutants. Some looked like they were ready to attack one another and others looked extremely guilty, their eyes darting back and forth from the broken fountain to Scott.

"Hello. Please, come inside and follow me to the Community Room," Scott said and turned around to begin leading them through the Institute. Charles, Jean, Kitty, and Kurt walked ahead of Scott so that they could be in the room before the new students got there. The silence while they walked was almost eerie, and for a moment, Scott wondered if he sounded too strict when he told them to follow. '_Like it matters. They won't like me even after they get to know me.'_

When the group entered the Community Room, the new students squeezed themselves together on the three couches that where positioned in a half circle around the room. Charles sat in the center of the room with Jean and Scott standing by his side. Kitty and Kurt where leaning up against the wall in the back to observe.

Charles looked out at the faces of the new students with a smile. He slowly took the time to look at each individual in the eye before beginning. The young teenagers all had wide eyes as they looked around; many were staring at Kurt, who was smiling smugly at all the attention he was currently receiving. Charles could feel the mixed emotions that were coming from each new student, which began to swirl around the room. There was fear, excitement, skepticism, sadness, shock, insecurity, and so much more. The last time Charles sensed all these emotions was after the defeat of Apocalypse. Taking in a deep breath, Charles decided it was finally time to start.

"Welcome to the Charles Xavier School for Higher Learning. You all may call me Professor Xavier…"

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**A/N:** Okay, so that was the prologue. I know you're probably saying, "What the Hell? Why did she stop there?" Well, it's because quite frankly, I haven't a clue on how to write a speech. And writing a speech that Charles would actually say is ten times harder. Also, I thought I would just leave it up to your imagination. I Hope you enjoyed my little prologue and please review telling me what you think!

NOW GO FORTH AND SUBMIT AN OC!


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Here it is, chapter one! First off, thank you ever so much to every one of you who submitted a character. I absolutely loved each and every one of them, but sadly, in the end, I could only choose five. I'll try maybe to incorporate some of the OCs that didn't get accepted as part of the main cast into the story, but I can't promise anything. Also! School is now out and I am no longer a sophomore! Meaning, hopefully, I'll have more time to dedicate to writing these chapters! I hope you all enjoy!

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**Chapter One**

At 1407 Graymalkin Lane, in Bayville, New York, right on the coast, a large mansion rested near the edge of a cliff which overlooked the crashing waves of the cool ocean below. In front of the building was a tall, metal gate which encompassed the many acres of private property and on that gate was a golden plaque that glistened almost as bright as the sun that shined upon it; that plaque proudly declared the address to belong to none other than the renowned Charles Xavier's School of Higher Learning.

The institute had aged very little in the past twenty years, and looked almost identical to the way it was when it was first opened. However, even though the physical identity of the Xavier school had changed little, the essence of it had gone through reconstruction several times in the passing years. The school doors had let in and out more than a hundred students over the last two decades. The old, brick walls had seen teachers move on, and old students take their place. The windows saw the transformation of each and every gifted student transform and mature as they learned to harness their powers. The grounds had experienced both celebration and tragedy. The school had even recently been renamed. It was fair to say that the Xavier School for Higher Learning had been through quite a lot.

For the past four months, though, the school halls had been empty as all of its students had moved on, and Charles Xavier, founder of the school, had officially announced his retirement. It was a strange transition, but it wouldn't take long for the place to start running normally again; because currently, there were six, young and new students inside who were just finishing listening to their welcoming speech.

Sitting together on three, large couches were three boys and three girls. A small group to start the brand new year with, but hopefully, in time, more students would help to fill the rooms. Professor Xavier sat bound to his wheelchair in the middle of living room in front of the new students, his hands clasped together and resting on his lap. His blue eyes were kind and compassionate, a trait her never lost through the years. The students were giving him their utmost attention.

"-And though our society has changed over the past few years, this school's mission has not. Our motto here is '_Mutatis mutandis,' _which translates into 'changing only those things which need to be changed.' And those changes do not refer to your mutation, because let me tell you this, your mutation if a gift and something great that partially defines who you are. And no matter what, you should never have to change who you are for someone else; the only thing that ever needs to change is one's attitude. Now before I stop, I'll leave you six with this: when an individual acquires great power, the use or misuse of that power is everything. Will it be used for the greater good? Or will it be used for personal or for destructive ends? Now this is a question we must all ask ourselves. Why? Because we are mutants. Something I hope none of you ever forget and something none of you should ever feel ashamed for." Charles paused to look at each students before giving his last words. "Thanks you all for coming and welcome to my school."

Silence followed afterwards. None of the new students knew what to do. Were they supposed to clap and cheer? Smile? Say thank you? It was an awkward kind situation that none of them had been in before. At last, one girl stood up with a huge grin on her face, her grey eyes wide. "Wow, that was like, a super awesome speech and all Prof., but now that it's over, can someone _please_ show me where the bathroom is?"

From behind, the boy who the girl was sitting next on the couch let out a snort with a roll of his light brown eyes. "Nice ice-breaker."

The girl looked over her shoulder and shot him a glare. "Oh, shut up."

"Now there's no need to argue, especially on your first day here," said Charles, defusing the situation. "Miss Coleman, am I correct?" The girl nodded her head. "Ms. Pryde will kindly show you to the lavatory. As for the rest of you, please, make yourselves at home."

Charles then left along with the other teachers, and Kitty showed the girl the way to the bathroom. Meanwhile, the remaining five students were left alone to introduce themselves to one another. Seeing how no one wanted to make the first move, a boy with long, dark blonde hair shifted himself into a more comfortable position with his legs crossed and his hands resting behind his head before speaking up. "I'm Michael Whitestar. It's nice to meet you all."

The others nodded their heads in acknowledgment. Next, a girl who had to be the youngest in the whole group went. "I'm Waverly Worthington, but call me Lee," she said with a twirl of her blonde pigtails.

"Wait," said a tall boy with short brown hair. "Worthington as in _Worthington Industries_?"

Lee narrowed her eyes at the boy. "Yeeeaah. Is that a problem?"

The boy quickly shook her head. "No, no. It's just that, isn't your family super rich?"

A smile a mile wide spread across Lee's face. "Yep. And also, my dad used to be an X-Man here, too. So that practically makes me a legacy!" she exclaimed. Lee then turned back to the boy who had been asking the questions. "Uh, sorry. What was your name?"

The boy grinned a goofy smile and proclaimed, "The names Walker, Grant Walker." An Australian accent peaked through Grant's voice as he spoke. "So, that leaves you two. Well, you two and that girl who left. Who are you?" he asked the girl sitting on the far end of the couch.

The girl to whom Grant was referring to blushed when she realized he was talking to her. She brushed a strand of her light brown hair back behind her ear and said in a small voice as her eyes locked straight down on the ground, "I-I'm Aubrey Schneider."

"Say again?" Michael asked, tilting his head to the side as though he were hard of hearing.

Aubrey blushed even more. "My name is Aubrey Schneider," she said a bit more loudly this time.

"Well, I guess that leaves me," said the boy who had made the quip about the girl who left for the bathroom. "I'm Garrett McGill. Not Gare, not Gary, just Garrett."

At that moment, the girl who left came back into the room. "Man, this place is huge! I mean, I practically got lost just trying to get back here. I wonder if they have like, secret tunnels or revolving bookcases here," she grinned.

Everyone looked at the girl with slightly annoyed faces, but she seemed to completely ignore them. "Your name's Coleman?" asked Michael.

"Hanna Coleman. It's awesome to be here with you guys! Wait, did I miss the introductions? Did you guys already show off your powers?" she exclaimed, obviously bummed out.

Garrett rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "This is going to be a long year."

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**A/N: **So the reason this chapter is so short is because if I didn't stop there, than it most likely would be as long as two chapters. This is also just a bit of a testing ground. I know I haven't been able to go into any real depth with the OCs, but I just wanted to see if I was getting them right. Because if I'm not, I don't want to be writing long chapters where I'm completely butchering them. So please, tell me how I did on the portrayal of your OC, even if they only had one line or two. Next chapter will include the big tour and power showing! Please leave a review, thanks!


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I am so, so, so incredibly sorry it took this long to update. I had planned on posting this a long time ago, I just had to finish it, but summer kind of got out of hand. I have plans for this story as well as the entire plotline typed out, so do not fear, for this story shall continue! Also, I realized, I should be updating more frequently – hopefully – once school starts. Yeah, as weird as that may sound, I've figured out that I write chapters to procrastinate from doing my school work, so once I have actual homework to do, I'll write more chapters for my stories! Yay procrastination! Well, that's enough babble for now. This is a bit of a filler chappie to get some basic info out of the way, but things should start heating up soon!

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**Chapter Two**

"So now we'll begin the tour," smiled Jean Grey, casting a warm glance over her shoulder toward her new students. She and Scott were leading the students around the institute to properly show them their new home while both Kitty and Kurt were setting up the Danger Room for later. Jean looked to Scott, whose gaze was solely focused straight in front of him; she gave a small nudge of her elbow into his side. "Scott, you need to ease up. You're making all the students tense, I can sense it," she whispered.

Scott gave out a small sigh, but visibly relaxed his shoulders. "I know, I know, it's just…" he trailed off.

"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet now," smirked Jean.

A small smile appeared on his face. "Of course not; but you're right, I should relax." He quickly looked behind him at the six students who were following him and Jean around like lost baby ducklings. "You don't think I've scared them already?"

Jean patted his shoulder. "Trust me, if Logan were here, you'd look like a puppy."

Scott paused for a moment as they ascended the staircase. "Is that a compliment or –"

"_I'll compliment you later,_" Jean seductively purred in Scott's mind, "_but for now, let's focus on the tour._" A blush as red as the glasses he wore burned on Scott's cheeks and Jean stopped to turn and face the students at the top of the stairs. They hall split up into three different directions. "Now, these two halls lead to the dorm rooms. The boys will be to the right, and the girls to the left. Because there is such a small group of students at the time being, you each will receive your own room. Feel free to visit each other's rooms, but after eleven o'clock p.m., the boys are not permitted to go into the girls' rooms and vice versa."

"Well, that's no fun," muttered Grant.

Scott shot out a stern look from behind his ruby quartz glasses and added, "There's a penalty system here. Break one too many rules and you will face consequences. Don't think that you can do whatever you want just because you live here. This is a place for learning."

From the small crowd, Aubrey slowly raised her hand. "Um, what exactly would those rules be, Mr. Summers?" she asked. When she noticed the glares a few of the other students were giving her for asking the question, Aubrey quickly diverted her eyes to the ground and took a small step back.

"We can go over those later," Scott said. "For now, let's continue with the tour; we have an activity of sorts for all of you to do once we finish." Jean and Scott then turned around and began walking down the middle hall.

A large smile appeared on Hanna's face and she poked Michael's shoulder. "Hey, do you think we're going to show off our powers or something?" she giggled.

Michael, who had a faint, white light radiating from his body, looked to her. "Man, you're really obsessed with this whole power thing, aren't you?"

Hanna only grinned more. "Well, I mean, yeah! Who wouldn't be? Like, my powers aren't really that awesome to watch or anything, so I really want to see something cool. How could you not? Being a mutant is probably the coolest thing that's ever happened to me!"

"And you're sure your mutation isn't being extra loud and annoying?" huffed Garrett as he briskly walked by the two. Garrett's hands were shoved deep into his dark jeans as he walked by himself, not bothering to talk to anyone else as they went along.

Hanna's face burned and her ears turned red. "Dude, what's your problem? You've been nothing but rude ever since you got here. What's up with that?" she puffed, flustered by the older boy's comment.

Garrett stopped with a bored look in his eyes. "Okay, whatever. I'm sorry. You feel better now?" a small trace of sarcasm was in his monotone voice as he spoke. Before Hanna could respond, Garrett continued on walking.

"Hmm," mused Michael, "he's definitely a bit of an ass."

"I'll say," grumbled Hanna angrily as they followed after him.

Behind Michael and Hanna, Grant, Aubrey, and Lee were walking together. Grant and Lee were laughing at a joke Grant had just told, while Aubrey looked overall uncomfortable. "Tell another one!" Lee prompted, wiping a tear away from her eye. She hadn't had a laugh that good in a long time; it felt good.

"Okay, okay." Grant put his hands up and complied. He then thought for a moment and smiled deviously when a joke came to mind. "So a Buddhist walks up to a hot dog vendor and guess what he says!"

Lee shrugged. "I don't know. What?" Aubrey turned to look at Grant, mildly interested as well.

Grant grinned even more. "'Make me one with everything! ' Get it? 'Cause he's a Buddhist… No?"

"Uh, sorry," Lee blankly said, but Aubrey, who had been mostly quiet since the tour started let out a small chuckle, quiet enough that it could have easily been missed.

Grant turned to Aubrey and gave her a goofy grin. "You got it?"

Aubrey's eyes looked over at Grant and she gave a small nod of her head. "Yeah, I got it." A small smile appeared on her face.

"I don't!" complained Lee. "Can someone _please_ tell me?"

Grant rolled his eyes. "You're probably too young to get it." Lee crossed her arms in a pout but left it at that.

Ten minutes later, after seeing classrooms, all the bathrooms, the recreation room, and just about every other type of room there could be, the group came to a stop at what appeared to be a dead end of a hallway. They were facing a wooden wall where a simple painting of the ocean hung. To the side, there was a marble end table with a vase filled with freshly cut summer flowers.

"Is the tour over?" asked Lee. "I'd really love to go and unpack." She was just dreading the thought of unpacking her four suitcases that were dedicated to just her clothes. Lee was also afraid that they wouldn't all fit into her closet.

Scott shook his head. "Almost. We still have one last area to show you all." He reached out with his left hand and pressed down on one of the wall's wooden panels. Suddenly, the wall that they were all facing let out a small creak and it slid open, revealing a large, metal elevator. The students watched in amazement.

"See, I totally called that there'd be secret passageways!" squealed Hanna in excitement.

Jean and Scott were the first to enter, and after a quick moment of hesitation, the students walked in after them. Jean pressed a button that was labeled "SUB-B 2" and the elevator gave a small lurch before going down.

When the elevator doors hissed open, it was as though they had been transported into a top secret base. The entire hallway, floor, walls, and ceiling including, were made out of shiny, silver metal. As the group walked down, their heels clicked and clacked, creating echoes as they went. Hallways branched out from the main one they walked, creating a metal labyrinth that was more than likely easy to get lost in. At last, they all came to a stop in front of two large metal doors.

"This room that we are about to enter is a very important one, and a room that you should all take seriously. None of you are allowed to enter this room without permission from one of the teachers. Violation of that rule will result in extreme punishment," Scott addressed to his new students.

"Man, this guy and his threat of punishments," whispered Grant.

They all nodded their head in agreement. Garrett then looked at the doors and asked, "So is this the room with all the lasers and giant saws? My cousin said when mutants were first exposed that he watched the news and they were exploring this place – when it had just been blown up and all – and the police found a giant metal room filled with all kinds of dangerous stuff."

Scott deflated slightly. "Y-yeah, that's this room," he said with less enthusiasim. He had really wanted to surprise them.

Jean rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Well, now that the surprise aspect of all of this is gone," she pressed a combo of buttons on a side panel, "I'd like to introduce you all to the Danger Room."

The metal doors smoothly slid open, revealing a gargantuan sized room. It was shaped like a dome, and, corresponding with the rest of the Sub-B 2 level, the Danger Room was completely covered in metal tiles.

"Awesome, you guys are finally here!" cheered Kitty as the students all entered. She waited a moment for each of the kids to properly look around and take in their surroundings. "It's not a lot now, but trust me, you all are in for a big surprise." Aubrey bit at her lip, she never did like suprises. Kitty saw her reaction and quickly added, "Oh, don't worry! It's nothing bad, I promise."

"Ms. Pryde?" Hanna asked as her hand skyrocketed into the air, "Do we get to show off our powers now? Please say yes, I've been waiting all day for this!"

Before Kitty could answer, a puff of smoke appeared before them all, followed by the particular scent of sulfur. When the smoke cleared, Kurt was standing in front of them, his arm wrapped around Kitty's shoulders. He gave a small three fingered wave along with a fanged smile. "Bing-bing-bing! We have a winner! Miss Coleman here has guessed it! It's time for you all to show us what you can do!" Kurt announced.

Kitty nodded her head in agreement. "It's the fun part of the tour now. Jean and Scott are going to go off and get some final things to end it while Kurt and I take notes of what your mutations are. Don't worry, this isn't like a test or anything, and you don't have to show off. Each one of you will just take a turn and give a simple demonstration of what your powers are. Nothing fancy, alright?"

"And before we start, can I get a raised hand if any of you have, well, powers that aren't indoor-friendly?" Kurt asked. No one did. "Good, just checking."

"Hanna, because you've seem to be the most excited about all this, why don't you go first?" Kitty asked, gesturing for the girl to come forward.

A sheepish smile appeared on her face. "Well, sure, no problem. It's just I'll tell you now, my powers really aren't that cool to look at."

Hanna walked to the center of the Danger Room and turned to face her fellow peers. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Okay, here we go," she muttered under her breath. Right when some of the others began to raise their eyebrows, Hanna's body started to turn translucent and she started to float into the air. A moment later, she was completely gone from sight.

"Invisibility?" asked Aubrey very timidly.

"And flight?" Grant had never heard of those two powers being combined together.

"No exactly," said Garrett with a grin stretched across his face. "Body possession."

Everyone turned to look at Garrett. "Hanna?" Kurt asked.

Garrett nodded his head – or rather, Hanna made him. "Yeah. My body turns all ghost-like or whatever and then I can enter a person's body, taking full control of them," she spoke through Garrett's mouth. Then, Garrett shivered and Hanna completely reappeared back in the center of the room. "Ta-da!" she cheered.

"Uh," mumbled Garrett, now back in full control of himself. "What the bloody hell happened? Did you take control of my body?"

Even though Garrett was obviously angry, Hanna only smiled. "Well, you shouldn't have been so mean to me before." Hanna then turned to Kurt. "So, how was that?"

"Very nice, but let's try and respect other's privacy and not possess other people without their permission, okay?" Hanna blushed and hurried back to the others.

"Okay," cheered Kitty, wanting to move right along. "Who wants to go next?"

Michael walked forward very casually, his body still giving off a glow. "Well, I think I absorbed enough sun earlier. Is there anything I can lift around here?" he asked. Kitty quickly pushed a few buttons on a handheld control pad and a large block appeared from the ground.

"That's about two-hundred pounds," said Kitty. "Is that good?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Michael responded nonchalantly and walked up to the block that had been placed before him. Bending down, Michael firmly grasped the well sized block on both sides and lifted it high above his head with little effort. His white aura was now gone. "I can lift more," he said, "but I don't think I have enough power absorbed right now."

"What do you absorb?" asked Kitty, scribbling some notes.

Michael placed the block down and wiped his hands on his pants. "I absorb sunlight. It's kind of like photosynthesis, I suppose. I don't get super strength or anything, but it just boosts me to my absolute peak. The more sunlight I get, the stronger I am."

"Is it just your strength that gets boosted?" Grant asked.

Michael shook his head. "Strength, speed, stamina, and even my healing time goes up."

"Good job, Glowstick," mocked Garrett as Michael's body slowly began to glow again.

Michael narrowed his eyes at the other boy. "Shut up."

From the other side of the room, Kurt sighed. "No fighting in here! Jeez."

Grant scratched his head at that. "But Mr. Wagner, isn't this room specifically designed for fighting?"

Kitty giggled. "He's got you there, Elf."

"Eh…" Kurt was slightly at a loss for words. "Well, for physical fighting, not verbal. Garrett, your turn!" he quickly stammered, wanting to change the topic.

The eldest boy walked up. "I don't have a physical mutation," he stated simply.

"Are you a psychic then?" Kitty asked, scribbling down a few notes on her clipboard.

Garrett shrugged. "Not exactly. I just know stuff. I couldn't tell you what you're thinking right this second, but I do know that Miss Grey and Mr. Summers are 'taking a break' right now in the women's locker room instead of setting up whatever it is they're supposed to be doing, you have exactly 119,462 hairs on your head, it's eighty-four-point-seven degrees outside, and there are a total of thirty-two cans of beer stashed around the mansion." Everyone stood silent for a moment as Garrett walked back to the line before Kitty or Kurt could say anything.

"There are still thirty-two beers left? Where does Logan hide them? I thought we got them all!" Kitty hissed over to Kurt.

Kurt shrugged and pointed over to Lee. "Your turn, Miss Wothington."

Lee happily stepped up. "Well, my power is a little hard to demonstrate, too."

Kitty laughed. "So I take it you don't have giant, white wings like your dad, huh?"

Lee shook her head with a small laugh. "No, nothing like that. Oh, my dad says hi, by the way."

"Did he get our postcard we sent out in May?" Kurt asked. "He never responded."

"Yeah, he got it. Didn't know what you guys meant when you said that Scott and that porcupine got—"

"We can talk about that later," Kitty interrupted. "So, what about those powers of yours?"

"Oh, yeah!" Lee squeaked. "Well, from what I can tell, I control luck, or at least can make myself lucky."

A mischievous glint shinned in Grant's eyes. "Say Lee, would you ever want to go to Vegas with me? I bet we could rule the poker tables." Michael elbowed Grant in the side. "Ow!"

Lee rolled her eyes. "If there was something that I could dodge I could show you." Kitty pressed some buttons on the control pad and a metal cone popped out of the side wall. Suddenly, small red rubber balls the size of tennis balls began shooting out of the cone and darted toward the spot where Lee stood. Lee took small steps left and right without batting a lash and managed to avoid the flurry of flying red balls without really trying. When the last one was shot, Lee stepped to the left just in time to have it miss her shoulder. She did it all with her hands behind her back.

"So you actually have to make an effort to avoid an attack," Kitty noted. She started to write something down on her notepad, when Kitty realized her pen had stopped working. She tapped it against the clipboard a few times, but the pen remained dead.

"I think how my powers work is that I take the luck away from the others around me, so that's probably why your pen doesn't work," Lee suggested.

"Good to know," said Kitty, "I'll make sure to make a note of that as soon as I get a new pen. Kurt?" Kurt understood what she was asking of him and with a small sigh, teleported away in a puff of smoke. Almost as quickly as he had gone, Kurt had returned with a new pen for Kitty. "Thanks," she smiled.

"So that leaves you two," Kurt said, referring to Grant and Aubrey.

"Ladies first." Grant gave a wide gesture for Aubrey to go before him.

Taking her turn in the middle of the floor, Aubrey looked nervous. Her thick, mousy hair fell into her dark brown eyes as she looked to the floor. "Can I use a block?" she asked in a small voice.

Kitty, who seemed to have been the only one who heard the girl, pressed the button that brought up a metal cube from the ground. Aubrey kneeled down beside it and placed her hands on top of the metal. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but slowly, the metal beneath Aubrey's hands started to bubble and fizz. In a matter of seconds, half of the metal block disintegrated into nothing. Aubrey stood up and brushed her fallen hair behind her ear.

"Whoa," muttered Hanna.

"Acid control?" Kurt asked.

Aubrey nodded. "I can also create a range of poisons."

"I'll make sure to talk to you about that later," said Kurt. Aubrey looked slightly scared, as though she had done something wrong. Kurt laughed, "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. I just want to know what kind of poisons and acids you can generate." Aubrey didn't say anything as she scurried back into line.

"My turn!" Grant boasted as he took Aubrey's place on the floor. He looked to Kitty. "Can you do the same thing you did for Lee?" Kitty nodded her head and had the cone reappear on the wall. Grant grinned. "I'm ready."

Red balls began to shoot speedily out of the cone and toward Grant. When they were about three feet away, Grant lifted his arms in from of his and a large, transparent, light blue half-dome materialized before Grant, taking the full blunt of the red balls. Each ball ricocheted off of the wall Grant had created and flew back toward the wall. When the bouts of projectiles were over, Grant stepped back and rested his arms by his side.

"I can make force fields," he said. "Any shape or size I want."

"Jean will definitely be able to help you with controlling that," Kitty remarked.

Grant mouth became a thin line, feeling like his spotlight was being taken away from him. "Well, can Ms. Grey do this?" he asked as he flung his right arm out, sending a basketball sized blue orb from his fingertips to the wall. The orb hit the wall and smashed some of the metal panels, getting stuck. The other kids laughed as Grant's eyes went wide, seeing that he damaged the room. His arm flopped to his side and the orb disappeared, leaving a dent in the wall.

Kitty smirked at Grant and coolly said, "Yeah, she can do that too." She then pressed a button on her handy control pad and the wall that had been damaged repaired itself.

Seeing that he hadn't done any permanent damage to the room, Grant let out a sigh of relief and joined the other students.

The doors to the Danger Room opened and both Jean and Scott walked in. Above the two floated a long table, that Jean was controlling using her telekinesis. When the two reached the group, Jean slowly placed the table down in front of her.

"Good timing, guys," Kitty said. "We just finished."

"Well," started Scott, bringing the attention of the group to him, "now we'll talk about those rules we brought up earlier." A few groans came from the students, but quickly died down when they saw Scott frown.

Kurt suddenly lit up with an idea. "Scott, before you start can I do something quickly? Just to make the atmosphere, you know, a little more enjoyable?" the fuzzy blue mutant asked.

Scott raised an eyebrow at first, not getting what his friend was hinting at, but then he saw that Kitty had started to press a few buttons on her control pad and gave a nod of his head with a smile. Kitty gave a quick thought before entering a final sequence of buttons and smiled. "Ta-da!"

Before anyone could ask what she had done, the walls, floor, and ceiling began to morph and ripple, like they were made out of water. Colors began to fill the grey room and sounds soon followed. In a matter of seconds, the entire group had been transported to what looked like a tropical island. They were standing in sand; hot, grainy, beach sand. Clouds were floating above their heads in a crystalline blue sky and water was lightly splashing against the shore.

"Oh my gosh, it's actually real. My dad told me that you guys could do this!" squealed Lee as she wiggled her toes in the sand.

"Did we teleport?" Michael asked, looking around him in disbelief.

Grant had his arms stretched out with a smile. "This is so cool!"

"We didn't actually teleport to the beach," explained Kitty. "The Danger Room has holographic features. And we also added in sensory technology that makes it feel, sound, and even smell like the place we program in. Pretty cool, huh?"

"I've never been to the beach," Hanna said absent-mindedly, walking over to the shore's edge and letting the water splash over her feet. "This is beyond surreal."

Jean smiled. She was glad that her new students were happy. It made her feel better and took the edge off of her fear. "Well, we can always do something like this for special occasions, and we'd be happy to take in requests for places you'd like to see. But we need to go over a few more things and then you are all free to go." She looked to Scott, giving him a nod.

Readjusting his glasses, Scott began. "We really only have a few major rules that must be followed at all times. The first rule is easy: follow your common sense; don't do things that you know will get you into trouble. You're not six year olds and none of the teachers here should have to watch your every move twenty-four-seven. We want to give you guys the freedom you deserve, after all, you're teenagers and you guys need it; but we won't be afraid to take that freedom away if you choose to act irresponsible. Next rule: using your powers in a destructive manner is strictly prohibited; as is using your powers outside of the institute's grounds. The only time it is allowed to use them when not at the institute is if you are using them to defend yourself."

"Wait, hold on just a minute. Are you saying that we're going to be attacked when we leave the mansion? Who'd do that? And why?" exclaimed Grant, obviously unsettled by what had been said. Sure he had known that times were especially tough for mutants, but never before had he had the need to protect himself in public.

A solemn look appeared over both headmasters' faces. Jean decided to answer Grant's question. "We aren't saying that it's guaranteed you'll be…_confronted_ when outside, but we have to face the facts here; since the existence of mutants has become public knowledge, some people consider us to be threats. There's no telling what people will do nowadays. I truly wish I could tell you that things will always be fine and that there's nothing to worry about, but I can't. I'm sorry."

A mix of scared and disturbed looks fell upon the students. Had things really become that bad for all the people like them? Of course there were laws and rules that applied to just mutants, but having to worry about being approached by some crazy, anti-mutant hater who possibly had violent intentions was flat out terrifying. Before joining the institute, none of the students had ever faced harmful threats, for they had managed to keep their mutations hidden from the public.

Michael then stepped up to ask a question. "So let's say that someone or something wants to hurt or attack or whatever to us; we defend ourselves and neutralize the threat. However, what happens afterwards? Say a government official sees the whole thing go down; well, whose side are they going to take? Last I heard the government still wasn't a fan of our kind."

"Yeah," added Hanna, "I've seen tons of news reports on TV where mutants are getting arrested because they used their powers in public. Will that happen to us?"

Jean cleared her throat, calming the kids. "I may have misworded some things. None of what I just said was meant to scare you. I should tell you, Mr. Summer, Miss Pryde, Mr. Wagner, and I were all your age when the existence of mutants became public knowledge. It was hard at first, adjusting to life after people knew who we were and what we could do; but we all made it, we stuck together and we got through it all. Yes, there will be some hard times you all will have to face, but it will end."

"But when you were teenagers, Kelly wasn't senator yet and hadn't made all these laws against mutants." It was Aubrey who had talked this time, her face showing a mixture of emotions.

"That's true," Kitty acknowledged, "but when we were you age, he was something far more frightening." Kitty gave a dramatic pause and enjoyed the looks on the students' faces as they awaited for her to finish. "He was our principle."

"Eww."

"That does suck."

"Who the hell let him be a principle of a school?"

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about that psycho anymore."

"That doesn't answer the question if we'll be attacked outside of the institute for doing nothing," huffed Garrett with his arms crossed over his chest. He wanted an answer out of his new teachers, even if it was a hard answer to give.

Scott sighed and rubbed her temple. This kid was definitely stubborn, but at least he was straightforward with what he wanted to know. "Look, just because you're a mutant it doesn't mean a random stranger will just come up to you and try and fight; at most, they'll call you out and try and get under your skin. Because what people want is a reaction, to get us so riled up that we would do something we'd regret and only make things worse for mutants. But there is the chance that yes, someone may want to actually fight you – most likely, that person will just be some random guy who thinks he's all big and tough, when reality has it that any of you could knock that guy down in an instant."

"And that's why you are here," Kurt picked up, "to learn how to use your powers properly. Those mutants you see on TV, well, half of the time they're doing reckless stunts to get attention. Here at the institute, we will train you to harness your abilities and teach you when and when not to use them."

"You will also learn how to protect yourself if need be," spoke Kitty, giving a glance at Garrett. "Moving on now."

The students didn't seem completely at ease with what they had just been told, but they didn't bring the topic up again.

"Everyone, please gather around the table," Jean called as she stepped behind the long table that she had brought in earlier. The students quickly huddled around it. On the surface were what appeared to be six mobile phones and six cards that looked like the kind you'd receive at a hotel. "Each of you will receive a cell phone and access card. You are to carry both of these items at you at all times. Without both of them, you will not be permitted to leave the campus, understood?"

The kids all shook their heads. "But I already have a cellphone, Ms. Grey," said Lee, whipping out her own device from her back pocket, showing it to her teacher. "Why do I need a second one?"

Kitty stepped up from behind and smiled. "Whoa, is that the latest Pear uPhone? How did you get one? I didn't even think they were on the market yet."

"They're not," grinned Lee proudly, giving everyone a chance to get a look at her phone.

"Anyway," Scott coughed, "as Jean was saying, you can't leave the campus without having both of these items with you. The reason is the cellphone has both a GPS chip in it, which we can use to track you in case of an emergency, as well as a panic button which is hooked up to our communications here. Of course, it functions as a normal phone as well, and you can use it however you want."

"So can I still use my old phone?" asked Lee.

Scott sighed. "Yes, if you feel the need to, you may still use your previous cellphone. I'll let you explain the cards, Jean."

Jean nodded and picked up one of the small, plastic cards that were not bigger than a driver's license. "As I mentioned before, these will be your access card. They allow you to get on and off campus, as well as unlock all the doors leading into the mansion. Please, try not to lose them, because if you do, that means we have to reset all the locks and access cards. No if you'd all take one of each," said Jean.

Hanna was the first to grab her phone and key. She examined both closely to her eyes. "I feel like a secret agent or something with these! So cool!"

"What's with all this extra security, anyways? Don't you think the phones are a little much?" Garrett asked, having already put both items into his pocket without bothering to look at them.

"There are never enough security precautions to take when you're a mutant," was Scott's blunt answer.

Kitty pressed a button and the tropical island illusion melted away back into the metal Danger Room. "Well, the tour is officially over. It's about four o'clock now and dinner is served at six. Feel free to do whatever you want until then."

Walking together, the six new students left the room, chatting about everything that had happened. The four teachers who had stayed behind looked at one another. "Well, I don't know about you guys," laughed Kurt, "but I think this is going to be exciting!"

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry if it seemed a bit long and sorry if it was dialogue heavy. Please tell me if your characters aren't being portrayed how you meant them to be and I will try my hardest to fix that – I'm still figuring out each character's personality and how they'd be written. Constructive criticism is more than welcome.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I just started my junior year of high school this week, so I'm adjusting to that craziness and seeing how much time school will take. Hopefully, I'll have a solid schedule soon and be able to update more frequently. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter Three**

After the Charles Xavier School for Higher Learning officially restarted, the few remaining weeks of summer went by quickly, much to the student's dismay. They had spent their first week or so acquainting themselves with their new living environment that they were still learning to call home; after that, the six teenagers tried to spend the rest of their vacation time doing normal teenage things. The pool had become the favorite spot in the mansion and was where the students spent most of their afternoons. Exploring the woods and playing games such as tag and kickball – mutant style, of course – were other activities they had enjoyed. The teachers hadn't started their lessons yet because they wanted to give the students enough time to familiarize themselves with their surroundings before any power training sessions began.

But now it was all over. The calendar showed that it was the seventh of September, or as Grant liked to call it, Day One of Hell.

Beep!Beep!_ BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

"Alright already!" groaned Michael, throwing his hand on top of his nightstand, feeling around until he found his alarm clock, which he angrily slammed down upon with his fist until it stopped ringing. It took another three minutes until he actually sat up in bed, where his long, dark blonde hair had covered his face and the remains of sleep were still crusted in the corners of his blue eyes.

It was six in the morning, so Michael was pretty sure he'd be the only one up when he left his room; but to his surprise, Aubrey, Hanna, and Garrett were all up as well, meaning that only Grant and Lee were still sleeping. Padding down to the bathroom with toiletries in hand, Michael was already thinking about all the bad things that came with the first day of school. At his old school, he had managed to blend in well enough. He didn't try to get unwanted attention and other kids didn't seem to bother him all that much, even when they knew about his mutation.

But now, he just wasn't sure. He had heard stories about Bayville. It was the town where mutants were exposed in the first place, and since then, had become a sort of Mutant Mecca. The regular humans had learned to co-exist with their mutated neighbors, but that didn't mean they were happy about it. A few years back, there was a story in the paper that surprisingly made national news: a fourteen year old boy with a physical mutation had been harassed and hazed so much by the upperclassman at Bayville High that he committed suicide. It was talked about for a day, Michael remembered his parents whispering about it behind closed doors, but then the next morning, it was like it never happened and the boy who died was quickly forgotten.

Sometimes Michael wished he was still back home with his parents, but knew that being at Xavier's was probably for the best. Though it wasn't like his parents couldn't support him, after all, they were both mutants, too. Then again, it wasn't like he could go back to his old school; when the principal had expelled him, it was made clear that he was to never walk on the school grounds ever again.

When Michael reached the bathroom, Garrett was just coming out of it. The two passed, giving the other a curt nod before continuing on. They didn't need to speak to convey their thoughts: chances were, today was probably going to be one of the worst days of their lives.

* * *

"How about this one?" Hanna asked, holding out a pretty floral print shirt. "I think it would look great on you."

Aubrey shook her head. Hanna had insisted on "helping" her pick out an outfit to wear for the first day of school… even when Aubrey didn't ask for it. "I think I'll just stick to what I usually wear," Aubrey replied, pulling a dark purple tunic over her head.

Hanna huffed and flopped down on Aubrey's bed. "Well, it does go better with your leggings." Hanna herself was nowhere near ready. She was still wearing her towel from when she got out of the shower.

"Are you worried?" Aubrey finally asked, her back turned as she refolded and put away the clothes Hanna had yanked from her dresser.

Sitting up on the bed and biting the inside of her cheek, Hanna shook her head. "For school? Nah, of course not. I mean… how bad could it possibly be?"

Aubrey turned and gave an awkward shrug. She didn't know what to say. Maybe school wouldn't be that bad, and maybe all the other kids would just leave them alone. There was a chance that she could make friends even; there were a fair amount of people out there who were accepting of mutants, and there had to be a few of those people at their school, right? But maybe… maybe high school _would_ be just as bad as the anxiety dreams Aubrey had the night before. Aubrey began to worry.

"Hey now," Hanna chimed, seeing Aubrey's troubled face. "You just have to see the positive side of all this."

Aubrey tilted her head. "What's that?"

Hanna tapped her finger against her chin in thought. "Well, we'll all stick together. And I think it's better to leave this place for a while, even if it's just for school."

"I really hope you're right," Aubrey muttered.

"Of course I am!" smiled Hanna widely, almost letting her towel fall to the floor as she flung her arms in the air.

"Hanna…" Aubrey muttered, looking away to give the younger girl a moment to readjust her towel.

"Well, I guess I should go get dressed too, huh? I'll meet you downstairs in the dining room!" she called brightly as she ran out of Aubrey's room and to her own.

* * *

When Grant walked into the kitchen, he saw that he was the last to arrive. Quickly grabbing a plate and scooping the remainders of whatever food was left, Grant dug into his breakfast. He sat next to Garrett and Lee. "So," he said with a mouthful of eggs, "who has the inside information we need to survive?"

Across from him, Michael raised an eyebrow. Grant gulped down the rest of his food so he could go on. "Y'know, what teachers to avoid, which table to sit at during lunch, the who's-who kind of thing?" Nobody said anything and Grant sighed. "Yeah, me neither. I guess because none of us are from anywhere around here, we don't know all the dirty secrets about our new school."

"Did someone say dirty secrets?" an excited voice squealed. Everyone turned and saw Kitty phase up from the floor.

"Grant here wants to know everything about Bayville High," Hanna supplied, before biting into her toast.

Kitty nodded her head and sat at the end of the table, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowel. "Well, in case you guys all forgot, I _did_ go there for like, three years. Of course, that was forever ago, I'm sure things have changed now that neither Mystique nor Kelley are principle."

"Sounds like this place has a rep for hiring crazy radicals to be in charge. I wonder who's calling the shots now," Garrett commented dryly.

Grant looked up to Kitty and grinned. "Okay, so what rumors, secrets, whatever do you know?"

Kitty laughed. "Let me think. If Mr. Hammilton is still the P.E. coach – and I'm not doubting he isn't, that guy never ages and it is _freaky_ – I'd avoid P.E. at all costs. Trust me, I'm totally willing to write you all excuse notes for the rest of the year. Unless, of course, you like to run through two hours of pure hell."

"Are you talking about Danger Room sessions?" Kurt asked, porting into the kitchen. The kids swatted away the cloud of sulfur smelling smoke that accompanied Kurt's powers. "You guys are lucky to start with us. When we were your age, we had Logan as our instructor. Now _that_ was hell."

Kitty shoved his arm. "Don't scare them, Kurt! And no, we're talking about P.E."

"With Hammilton?" Kurt shivered. "I hope for all your guy's sake that he's retired by now."

Grant rolled his eyes. "Okay, enough about PE, what else?"

Kurt and Kitty looked at each other, as though conversing through telepathy.

"Don't trust the jocks."

"I may not seem like it at first, but you _will_ make it through chemistry, I promise."

"Try not being late for class, especially after lunch."

"Don't be too excited for anything, but don't be a total downer, either."

"And whatever you do," the two elder mutants said in unison, grave expressions on their faces, "DON'T EAT THE MEATLOAF!"

* * *

Lee sat in the back row of the van next to Aubrey, who was staring out the window, making it hard for Lee to see the expression on her face. She wanted to know if Aubrey was just as nervous as she was.

Scott had given them permission to use the school's van for transportation, because it would take far too long to walk and none of them had their own vehicles. Garrett was driving – being the oldest and all – and Michael was in the passenger seat, helping to direct them on the right course.

Taking out her new "X-Phone," Lee slid her finger tips across the glossy surface. Of course Lee had always been used to heavy security protocols – she _was_ a Worthington, after all – but never had she had needed devices for possible life or death situations. When she lived with her dad, he hired private security to accompany Lee whenever she went out on excursions. Lee had thought they were unnecessary, but ever since her dad had made his mutation public, he didn't want to take any risks.

Lee's bodyguards didn't follow her into school, but they would always be nearby if need be. Her old school, a very selective private school made of a small student body, didn't know of Lee's mutation ever. A few kids would poke fun at her and ask when she too was going to grow giant wings from her back, but that was about as bad as it got. When her dad said that he was shipping her off to New York to attend Xavier's, Lee was furious and refused to go.

"_But Daddy!" Lee complained, stomping her foot on the ground and crossing her arms in a pout. "I don't want to go! All my friends are at Eastwood!"_

_Warren Worthington brushed his fingers through his blonde hair and sighed. "I know, Waverly, but it's for the best. Trust me on this. And besides, you love visiting the institute!"_

_Lee rolled her eyes. "That's because I got to ride the horses there. And of course Xavier just had to get rid of the stables last year, so now there aren't any."_

"_That's Professor Xavier, Waverly. And this will be good for you; it will be good to be around other kids with mutations."_

"_Oh yeah, because I want to share a room with some kid who has x-ray vision," she huffed. "No one at school even knows that I'm a mutant! Why do I have to go?"_

_Warren narrowed his eyes. "Someone will find out sooner or later, and then it might turn out those friends of yours aren't as friendly as you think; trust me, I work with some of their parents and I'm sure they run their anti-mutant ideas on their children. And remember, you _cheated_ on a test! So don't act like you're the victim. "_

"_But Dad – "_

"_No, Waverly. You are going, I've made up my mind. Now I don't want to hear another complaint!"_

And that had been the last they talked about it. When Lee got on the plane for New York, her and her dad still weren't on the best terms, but during Thanksgiving break when she'd fly back home, Lee was sure the two of them would reconnect.

* * *

When they parked toward the back of the student parking lot, kids were already staring as they exited the van. Garrett shot out nasty looks back at in response to the rude faces that were directed toward them. "Do they have to look like we're circus freaks?" Grant huffed, crossing his arms.

"That's because we _are_ freaks," Michael responded seriously..

"Don't say that!" Hanna sharply poked him in the side, annoyed. "We're _not_ freaks. But how do they already know who we are?"

Lee let out a sarcastic laugh. "Gee, I don't know. But if I were to guess, I'd say the ugly, black military van with a huge X on the side was a possible giveaway." Lee readjusted her designer purse higher on her shoulder before checking her blonde pigtails in the side mirrors and making sure they were both even.

"Princess has a point," Garrett agreed, getting a peeved glance from Lee for the nickname. "It's not like our ride is exactly what most people would call subtle."

"Can we please just go in?" Aubrey asked, looking more uncomfortable than usual as she noticed that more people were stopping to stare at their group.

The six made their way toward the school entrance. When they walked up the steps, two boys wearing letterman jackets to show off their jock status stood before the doors, blocking the path. The two boys eyed the group with disgust.

Lee huffed. "Excuse us."

One of the boys copied Lee's huff and in a high pitch voice replied, "Uh, _no._"

"Your kind doesn't belong here," the other boy said in deadpan. "So why don't you all go back to that freak show school you live at, huh? We don't need any more muties here."

"Listen here, you jerk-face jocks!" snapped Hanna, her hands balling into fists. "I want to be nice, but if you're going to act like complete jack-asses, then – "

Michael placed his hand on Hanna's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze, signaling for her to stop. Hanna looked to Michael through the corner of her eyes and then back at the jocks who were glaring at her, but slowly relaxed and looked down at the ground.

"Yeah, listen to your glowstick friend, girly. That is if you know what's good for you."

"Aw, what's the matter?" snickered the other. "Too afraid to fight back? Come on, blast me through a wall or turn me into a lizard! I dare you!"

"That's it!" Grant snapped. A faint blue glow appeared around his hands and he stepped forward and got right in the two jock's faces. The jocks grinned, waiting for Grant to make a move.

Sensing that Grant wasn't planning on stopping, Garrett barked out, "Grant!" before the other boy could do something stupid and regretful.

Grant looked over his shoulder at Garrett. "What? I'm just doing what they asked for! And it's not like they don't deserve it!"

"It doesn't matter. If you do anything to them, then we'll be expelled before we even get a chance to start school. It's a law: mutant students a prohibited from using their powers at school. They're only baiting you to use your powers." Garrett didn't even bat a lash as he explained what was happening. His cold brown eyes never left the two jocks. "Just ignore the bloody prats."

Grant growled, but like Hanna, calmed down and backed away, the blue glow around his hands dispersing from sight. "Fine," he grumbled.

Nobody spoke after that. It was just a starring contest between the group and the jocks. Neither sides were going to be the first to budge. Finally, the sound of a throat clearing broke the silence. Everyone turned to see a woman with long red hair wearing a pant suit stand at the bottom of the steps with her hand placed on her hips.

"I do believe the first bell has rung," the woman said, looking at all the students.

"Ms. Watson!" one of the jocks perked up, seeing the adult standing nearby looking not so pleased. "Ted and I would be in class right now, but these mutants were giving us trouble!"

"That's not true and you know it," Michael calmly remarked, narrowing his eyes at the one who spoke.

"I won't hear any of your excuses today, Mr. Berezovski. Now you and Mr. Deen run off to class. That monstrous amount of tardies the two of you accumulated last year hasn't been erased from your transcripts, so you two best not start the new school year with one," the principal, Ms. Watson, chastised. "Now get going!"

The two boys frowned but mumbled out in unison, "Yes, ma'am." As they turned, one of them looked over their shoulder and whispered, "You guys better watch your backs!" Then the two were gone.

"Well then, you six must be from Xaviers. Welcome to Bayville. I'm Ms. Watson, the principal here. I also have all of your schedules here with me. The first day of school is very loose for transfer students, so don't worry about not making it to a class on time. If you need anything, feel free to ask anytime; you can always find me in my office," she smiled warmly.

"So you don't care?" Hanna asked.

Ms. Watson lifted an eyebrow. "Well, I'd prefer that you all try and make it to your assigned classes."

Hanna shook her head. "No, no. It's that you don't seem to mind that we're mutants."

A soft laugh came from their new principal. "Well, no, of course not. I have no qualms with mutants. In fact, some of my friends are mutants. But I'll tell you this, mutant or not, if you cause trouble then you'll be in trouble with me, understood?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good," she smiled. "Well, I need to go take care of a few things. I hope you all have a good first day!"

Once she was gone, Aubrey handed out the individual schedules that Ms. Watson had handed her.

Lee looked over her schedule and immediately groaned. "Great, I have P.E. first period! And even better, it's with that Hammilton guy Miss Pryde and Mr. Wagner were warning us about!"

Grant laughed and clapped his hand on the short girl's shoulder. "Ah yes, the tortures of Freshman P.E. But hey, at least when it comes to dodgeball, you can avoid getting hit."

"That so doesn't make me feel any better," she moaned before walking off to find the gym.

"Well, I probably won't have any classes with you guys," Hanna noted. "You're all Uperclassmen, right?"

"Wait, you're not?" Michael asked, a bit surprised.

"Sadly, no. Sophomore year awaits me. I'll meet up with you guys at lunch."

"Good, luck," Aubrey said, giving her friend a small nod.

Hanna snorted. "Knowing me, Lee's probably sucked it all up." She then walked down the other hall to find her first class.

Grant looked at who was remaining. "Well, that leaves the four of us. Trig, anyone?"

* * *

Garrett sat hunched over in the wooden chair, his shoulders slouched and head bent toward the ground. His thumbs twiddled mindlessly as he closed his eyes and breathed. He already knew that Mr. Summers and Ms. Grey were not going to be happy to learn that he had been sent to the office within the first two hours of school.

In his AP English Literature class, some kid had made an anti-mutant comment, and after early dealing with the jocks from earlier that morning, Garrett was in no mood to hear that sort of bull shit. So he called the jerk out. The two then began to verbally fight, much to the teacher's dismay. Finally, Garrett said that he didn't have to stoop to the kid's level and told him to just leave and smoke the rest of the weed that he was hiding in his backpack. That comment made the class go dead silent.

Of course Garrett didn't intentionally mean to say that out loud, but it was the heat of the moment mixed with his powers. The teacher wasn't completely sure what to do next, but ultimately, decided that it was Garrett who deserved to be sent to the office as punishment.

"Stupid school… stupid kids…"

"Mr. McGill," called the secretary from behind her desk, "the principal will now see you."

Garrett sighed and slowly rose from the chair. Brushing his hands on his dark jeans, Garrett walked over to the door with the small golden plaque with the word "Principal" written on it. Turning the knob, Garrett muttered, "Let's get this over with."

* * *

When the lunch bell rang, none of the kids dared enter the cafeteria alone. Once they were all grouped together, they walked into the room together. From the tables, kids glanced up, some shouted out names, but none of them reacted. Once they got their food, they looked around for a place to sit.

"There's a table over there," Aubrey said, pointing over to a table in the farm corner.

"Ew!" Lee complained, seeing the spot. "But it's right next to the trash cans."

Sighing, Michael starting to walk over to it. "Well, you'll just have to deal because I bet it's the only table we can sit at."

"Muties!"

"Freaks!"

"Nobody likes you!"

"Don't you live at a school? Why do you have to come here?"

"Go back to Mars or wherever it is you came from!"

"Why do you guys even bother trying to be normal? You'll never be accepted!"

Those were just a few of the things they heard when passing by other tables. At last, the group reached their designation and sat down. None of them talked to each other and instead just began to eat their gross lunches.

A few tables down, some kids were looking at them, not with hatred or disgust but rather with sympathy. Hanna looked back, and it took her a moment to realize that one of the boys at the table had pure black eyes. "Hey, guys!" she said. The others looked up at her. "I think over there are some more mutants!"

Everyone turned to follow Hanna's gaze and saw the other group of kids. As soon as the other kids gained the sudden attention, they all turned and returned back to their eating.

"Wonder why they haven't said anything to us today," Grant questioned, stabbing his macaroni and cheese.

Garrett snickered. "Probably because with us here now, people aren't paying that much attention to them anymore. We're the new mutant meat around here."

"So they're not saying his because they're selfish?" Lee remarked, glancing over at the other mutant group again, only this time not so nicely.

"You can't blame them," Aubrey piped in. "They've probably been through a lot more hell than us. It's only been a day for us, imagine what it was like for them, going here for years?"

That quieted the group down again. By the end of lunch, they had decided to somehow eventual befriend the other mutants at Bayville High, making it their job to offer them a place at the institute if need be. But that would have to wait until later, because right then it was time for fifth period.

* * *

By the time the first day of school was over, the institute group were some of the very first people to leave campus. They all met at the car and urged to get home, wanting nothing more than to leave as soon as possible. They didn't talk on the ride home, each kid taking the quiet time to think over their first day and just how awful it really was. Michael was shaking his head in disappointment, sad that he was right about school being terrible; Lee was shaken up by being around so many mean kids and called such rude things, it didn't matter if her family was one of the wealthiest in the nation; Grant was still fuming over the two jocks from the morning and imagining in his head how he would beat them up, with and without powers; Hanna was deflated and for the first time, had nothing to say as she solemnly looked out the window; Aubrey, too, was bothered and looked even smaller than usual; and Garrett decided to just focus on driving, because if he thought about his school day, chances were that he'd crash the car.

Once they reached the institute, everyone piled out of the car and rushed inside. They all headed for the rec room, where everyone flopped down onto a couch or chair.

"That. Was. Terrible." moaned Grant.

"Is it too late to call my parents and ask if I can go back home?" Michael asked with a small, sarcastic laugh.

Hanna rested her face in the palms of her hands and said in a muffled voice, "I never, ever, ever, want to go back there. Ever!" The others nodded in agreement.

At that moment, the door opened and in walked both Jean and Scott. Everyone looked up and immediately had questioning glances on their faces. It was a little weird for them to see their two headmasters dressed up in fully body costumes made of what appeared to be black spandex.

"Hey guys," Jean greeted.

"Uh, hey there, Ms. Grey," Grant said back hesitantly.

"How was school?" asked Scott. A chorus of moans and groans was enough of a response for Scott to understand that it wasn't the best of days for them.

"Well," Jean said with a clap of her hands, "it seems like you guys haven't had the best of days. But to get you guys excited, today's going to be your first Danger Room session! It'll get you all pumped and full of energy again."

Scott nodded his head. "So go down to the locker rooms where there will be a little something waiting for you guys and then meet us in the Danger Room."

The kids nodded and watched as Jean and Scott left.

"Okay, please tell me I wasn't the only one freaked out by what they were wearing."

* * *

**A/N: **Well, it's a bit long and there's not a whole lot going on. I don't know if I'll do this whole switching perspectives a lot, but I wanted to do it here so you could see everyone's thoughts about school. Sorry if you guys are getting anxious, but I'm slowly building up to the main plot. I really want to solidify these characters and their relationships and all that stuff first. But we'll get somewhere soon, I promise – and trust me, I have a lot of action planned for this story ;)

Well, again I'll say that constructive criticism is always awesome to have – and trust me; I can take your bluntness. Don't feel the need to sugar coat things for me; I'm not the kind of author who complains when you guys give your honest opinions. Please review!


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